


I Am The Little Nightmare

by Bookwyrm20



Category: Little Nightmares (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2020-03-08 21:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18902800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookwyrm20/pseuds/Bookwyrm20
Summary: Six was dropped into the belly of The Maw to fend for herself. On her journey to freedom, she must overcome numerous obstacles and face-off with monsters from a nightmare. But at the end of it all, will Six give in to her darker side, and become a Nightmare herself?A novelization of the video game





	1. The Nightmare Prison

_Sentient darkness swirls across my vision. There is a figure within, tall and slender. She turns to face me._

I wake with a sharp gasp, heart pounding in my ears. I close my eyes and press my hands to my face. _In, out. In, out. In, out._ The frantic beat starts to even back out. I take in my surroundings and am greeted with dank gray walls and water slowly dripping from overhead. The suitcase I'm sitting in has faded pictures and musty clothes. The only other object is a small lantern.

My skin crawls and ice floods my nerves as my bare feet touch the metal floor. I’m grateful that I still have my raincoat to protect the damp from seeping in. I’m more grateful that my lighter is still in my pocket. I go over to the lantern and notice the wax is almost melted all the way down. Many girls came before me - five that I knew, but there were girls stretching back decades. I’m not sure what number The Lady is, but I am Six. And I will be the last.

I leave the room, candle slowly melting a bit further, marking another child dropped into the belly of the Maw. The lanterns will stand taller the further I go, but hopefully I will be more than just another melted inch of wax. My foot hits a can, and I nearly jump out of my skin as two small creatures skitter away. I dig my nails into my palms. They’re just Nomes. Nothing to fear. _Yet._

I come upon a small hatch and wrap my hands around the handle. My fingers barely fit around it, and the force I exert to open it throws me back. I pick myself up and crawl into the air duct, flicking my lighter so I don’t fall to my death. The vent is pretty straight forward, and soon I’m leaping into another open area. I run up the staircase, eyeing the massive chain links overhead. Each one is at least three times my size. This entire ship was built for something much bigger than me.

_Except for…_

There’s one place not terrifyingly proportioned, but I’m sure I’ll never see it again. I’m so distracted I almost run into a boarded up door. I need to focus. I crawl under the door and into the bedroom. The bed is conveniently place under what seems to be a window with no glass. I pull myself up and my heart skips a beat. I think my body is frozen. There are legs dangling from the ceiling, and I know whose they are. _Don’t look._ I tear my gaze away and assess the door on the far side of the room. The handle is too high off the ground, I’ll need to use something to grab it. Like a chair.

It feels like moving through syrup. Everything feels to small even though it’s all too big. Just grab the chair. Pull it over. Grab the handle. Good.

There is some sort of black tar on the ground. I accidently step in some and it squeezes through my toes, coating my soles in sticky goop. I leave tiny footprints behind me as I grab the fridge door and use the shelves as a ladder.

_Did she come through here too? Do you think those handprints belong to her?_

**_Which her?_ **I giggle and the sound echoes, distorting again and again until it sounds like a scream. I had been wondering if The Lady came through here when she ascended, but the handprints could have belonged to the five before me. Or maybe they are much older than that.

I pull myself up another wooden step. Something drops from the ceiling with a squelch and I start running, jumping over the gap. I flick open my lighter and see more drop from the ceiling, oily leeches that inch towards me. There is a handle up ahead and I pull it down, closing the way behind me. Through another door, over another gap, and my way is barred. I look closely at the boards. The nails weren’t done very well. Maybe I can…

My body tumbles back, and the way is clear. I see another Nome run and I chase after, only to fall through a rotting board. My nose and mouth are coated in black sludge, and it takes my moment to stand. I ignite my lighter and clap a hand over my mouth to stop the scream. _They’re everywhere_ . Oily, disgusting leeches, closing in on me. I leap over them, dashing for the door. The wood groans under my palms so I shove harder, needing to get out I need to move _I can feel one touching my heel-_ The door falls and I burst through onto a wooden catwalk. Some are still trying to follow so I jump over the gap, putting distance between me and the bloodsuckers.

Air scrapes in and out of my lungs. My legs are trembling but I must keep moving. I won’t ever be safe here.

**_Well, there is one way you’d be safe. Safe from everything, everywhere._ **

I go up the ladder and follow the catwalk to a crank. I start to spin it, and lights seeps in. The door is behind me! I let go of the crank only to have darkness fall. I’m going to need to run again. I spin the crank again, shoving it as far as it will go, then turn and sprint. I don’t bother with the safe route and leap over nothingness. It’s closing too fast. I shoot my legs forward and slide under. The door slams shut behind me.

The room has a small hole in the opposite wall that leads to a wide bridge. I’ll be exposed, but there shouldn’t be anything this deep in The Maw. I’m walking across when the screech of metal on metal sounds out. I dash to the end of the bridge and peer up, heart in my throat. I see a long arm yanking a cage across a different bridge. _That must be The Janitor._

There is a rope of sheets hanging next to me, and I waste no time scurrying up. I drop into the next room and take one breath before I hunch over, vomiting what little is in my stomach. _It reeks in here_. Which makes sense, since it’s the bathroom. I hold a sleeve over my nose in an attempt to block out the scent and head to the other door. Light flickers and fades in bursts before my eyes. Of course the bars are electrified. Lucky me, the switch is in the bathroom. I hold my breath as I drag a crate of toilet paper under the switch and grab onto it, letting my weight pull it down. The lights go out. I slide through the bars, silent as a mouse.

The next room appears to be a playroom. With the lights out the childish toys look creepy and almost haunted. There’s several building blocks, a seesaw taller than me, and even a small train. I wander around the room, peering at the toys meant for children but still too big for me. A buzzing fills the room. The electricity is back on.

I spy a window on top of a dresser, and maneuver myself onto the seesaw. I tip one end down, then run and jump to get to the top and crawl through the window. When I switch off the power again, I waste no time looking at toys and slip through the other set of bars. The hallway I enter is lined with doors. I don’t think I want to know what’s behind them. I see light up ahead, only it’s… moving? I hide behind a pillar for a better view. There are hunched statues scattered in the room. I step towards them and my foot falls in a patch of light.

Agony shoots through me. My throat closes over my screams so all that comes out is a strangled gasp of pain. My flesh is flaking off me, turning to black ash. I tumble back into the shadow of the pillar.

Those figures aren’t statues. They’re children turned to ash under this watchful gaze. Tears prick my eyes. _Could one of them be…_ I can’t think about that right now. I have to get through this. There is a pattern to the eye, and I hide behind various objects on my way across the room. Once I am out of the light’s reach I dare to look back. The figure nearest me has a pink ribbon laying in its shadow. _Four._ The air is sucked from my lungs.

**_You knew already. You knew as soon as Five was dropped down here. She did this to them._ **

A small ember burns through my sorrow. _She did this to them_. I pull myself up the crates next to me and begin climbing. I go through the door to my right and hear soft sighs. My lighter reveals several beds, each with a child curled up in the center. I hear the door creak open and duck under the nearest bed, dousing my light. The long armed Janitor slowly shuffles through. I know he’s blind, I’ve seen pictures of him with the bandages wrapped around his head, but he must be able to hear my heart as it thuds in my chest. My nails dig into my palms as watch, not daring to move. Only when he has shut the door behind him do I dare crawl out of my hiding place.

In the sideroom is another set of cages that I easily scale. I climb onto the shelf and crouch down to fit into the air ducts. This place may not be safe, but at least nothing can reach me in here. All too soon the vent leads out. I lower myself to the ground, but I don’t make it more than a few steps before I hunch over, hands going to my stomach. _I’m hungry._ Loud growling noises are coming from me. I hurry another few steps but stop again. _I’m HU_ **_NGRY._ ** I lurch up the stairs. Out of the corner of my eye I see a silhouette, alone amongst the tables. My stomach writhes inside me, demanding food. **_I’M HUNGRY!_ ** I collapse. There is a soft thud near my head, and I open my eyes to see a small loaf of bread. I fall upon it, ravenously gnawing. The bread does the trick, because I feel the pain subsiding. It’s enough to keep me alive. **_For now._ **

I slowly stand and turn to thank the person, but they are already sitting back down. I shrug and pull myself up the metal boxes to where the bars have been pulled apart. I pass through a darkened shower area, water dripping steadily from a leaky showerhead. I shiver in the damp air and hurry onto the metal catwalk. The doorway on the other side has electrified bars throwing off sparks. I need to find the switch.

The wall of cages and boxes next to me looks relatively scalable. I stare up at it, plotting a way to the top. My arms are burning by the time I am done, the bread from earlier doing little to battle my fatigue. I have to keep moving. The Janitor could come through here, and I don’t want to be exposed if he does.

Some wooden planks stick out to the center where a grouping of cages dangle on a chain as thick as my body. I jump over the abyss, fingers clinging to the small bars. I heave myself up and start climbing. There’s another area above me, and I can see two switches from here. Maybe one of them shuts off the electricity. I leap off the chain and land harshly, knees scraping against the ground. I grit my teeth and stand, limping over to the switch nearest me. I pull as hard as I can, arms straining, but it doesn’t budge. I let out a frustrated sigh and throw my hand sup in frustration. Might as well try the other one.

This one gives with a bit of yanking, and the chain holding the cages rises noisily. It stops level with me, but it’s much to far for me to reach this time. _I wonder…_ I go back to the switch on the ground and try pulling again. It screeches to the side, and group of cages swings toward me. I yank the switch to the other side and immediately start running, pushing off the ground, fingers stretching in front of me, brushing the metal…

My hand latches on and I pull myself up top. I lay on my back heaving air into my lungs, staring up into nothing as the pendulum moves across the emptiness. My breathing steadies and my eyes slip shut. _Maybe I can rest, just for a bit._ But the pendulum has reached the other side and swung to a stop, and I know I need to go. I climb a bit higher on the chain and jump off. There’s file cabinets shoved against the wall, papers sticking out and some littering the floor. There’s a switch above my head. It looks like the one that was in the bathroom that shut off the power to the playroom. I just need to get up there.

I test out the bottom cabinets. The two on the ends pull out, but the middle is stuck - or locked. The second cabinet on the right is also stuck, but the on on the left is fine. I pull it out to about halfway and climb up, then leap sideways to grab onto the lip of the cabinet. From here I can easily grab the switch, and the weight of body pulls it down. The room goes dark.

I can’t go back to the pendulum without a switch to move it, so I slip through the bars to my left. There’s a hole in the center and a weight attached to a wire rope. I shove it into the hole, twisting my fingers together as it zips down. I flinch when a noose appears. I avert my gaze, images of legs dangling in mid-air flashing before me. Long legs, hanging over a chair, attached to a long body, rope wrapped around a neck. I can imagine his face changing color, eyes bugging out of his head as his feet kick uselessly-

**_Open your eyes._ **

But when I look at the noose I see the face of a man who was truly kind gasping for breath.

**_Truly kind. The only good thing besides your sisters._ **

I clap a hand over my mouth to stop the sobs. They’re all gone, lights snuffed out because of her darkness.

 **_Yes, because of_ ** **her.** **_She did that to him. She deserves to be punished._ **The sobs stop. I peer out from under my hood to look at the noose again. This time I only see her. Black hair around a porcelain white mask. A pretty façade over an ugly interior. She needs to pay. And I’m the only one who can do that. But I need to get a grip.

My spine straightens, shoulders thrown back. I take hold of the rope, loose strings digging into my palm. I step off the ledge, and begin my descent. The rope stops a few feet short of the ground. I let go and watch it fly above, the weight dropping towards me before stopping abruptly. I’m walking back through the showers when I hear a wet plop. I ignite my lighter, dispelling the shadows. Everything seems fine until a patch of darkness lurches towards me. _Leeches._

I dash past, hearing more plops around me. One rears up in front of me and my instincts push me faster, makes me jump higher to avoid the bloodsucker. I race across the catwalk and through the now safe bars. Adrenaline takes over my body and I barely manage to stop before stepping into the gaze of another eye. I stand there, bouncing on the balls of my bare feet as the light swings to the other side of the room. The ship tilts, sending a trash can rolling my way. I duck behind it, moving with it as light shines around the edges. The eye’s gaze swings past me, and I escape through the doorway.

Another catwalk with no railings. I trudge along, the edge of adrenaline wearing off. The ground begins to move.

I don’t pause to think about why there is a retractable catwalk in the Prison. I just run, rms pumping at my sides, trying to reach safety. The ledge above me is too high, and I feel my heart stutter in my chest. My head crowds with fear. There has to be some way to get up there, there must be something!

There’s a metal crate just up ahead. I lose precious seconds clambering on top. The box tilts dangerously, toppling into nothingness. But I managed to haul myself up. If I’m going to die here, it won’t be from falling over the edge. I turn away, continuing my journey through this hellish landscape. Another door closes behind me, thick slabs of metal booming shut. I glance over my shoulder and see the symbol of an eye imprinted above the door. The entrance to The Prison. Perhaps I can rest here for a bit.


	2. The Nightmare Lair

The air is not so stale at the top of the staircase. Although I wouldn’t call The Janitor’s pathetic job a _life,_ it’s still more of an existence than what the Nomes experience. I crawl into the next room - obviously The Janitor’s bedroom - and scare one of said creatures. I run after it, hoping it can lead me, but I’m stopped short by a locked door. The padlock looks old but not rusted, so I doubt I can break it off. There has to be a key, right?

I go back and flip the switch to give me access to the bed. There is a deep rumbling within The Maw, followed by a clank. The noise strikes a chord of fear on my sternum, but I don’t think it’s The Janitor. It feels more… omniscient. Like I have caught the attention of The Maw, and it wants to see which choices I make. **_It feels like I have truly awakened._ **

Climbing the dresser and grabbing the key is easy, and soon I am on my way. There is a monkey toy in the middle of the next room, tiny cymbals clenched tightly. I say tiny, but the toy is as big as my head. I can see a button on the wall, far beyond my reach. If I were to throw something at it, I could call the elevator.

It feels as though the entire ship shakes as the elevator comes down. Hopefully, wherever The Janitor is, he’s too far away to notice as I descend, shuddering to a stop at a long, dingy hallway. There’s nowhere to go but forward.

Unfortunately, forward is only a few steps as hunger pains spike through my abdomen. _I’m hungry._ Coughs wrack my body as I stumble along. _I’M HU_ **_NGRY._ ** There are no kind children down here, but I can smell food. There are rats hanging from the top of the doorway, but it’s not them I smell. There’s fresh meat nearby, and the scent sends another bout of agony through me, forcing me to press my head to the cool metal floor. **_I’M HUNGRY!_ **I pay no attention to the cage, stepping in and devouring the meat as fast as I can. I don’t notice the arm until it closes the door behind me.

 

The rasp of metal draws me out of sleep, and I catch the sight of grimy hands hauling someone else away before the door slams shut. That poor soul’s fate may be sealed, but mine isn’t. I ram my shoulder into the cage door again and again, shifting it until it clatters to the ground, the top popping open. I can see the pulley mechanism that opens the door, if I could just reach it. The cage beside me is the perfect height.

The child huddled inside pays no heed to me dragging his cage around. If I had the time I’d try to free him, though it seems he wouldn’t dare attempt escape. I grab hold of the handle and the door opens. I let go and don’t even make it off the cage before it closes in front of me. I huff in frustration, hands folding into fists. Even sprinting I can’t make it in time. The cord attached to the handle is elongated, like everything else in this place, and certainly more flexible than a chain. _Could I swing from it?_

I can, and the back of the door is easily scalable, leading me into a hidden bathroom that probably hasn’t been used since The Maw was built. I leave quickly, dropping onto rolls of strange, thick sheets. The sound of ripping fabric sets me on high alert. I creep forward, peeking around the corner for my first full view of The Janitor.

His torso is short and barrel-like, held up by stubby legs. What he lacks in height he makes up for in arms - dexterously rolling up the bodies of children like me and hanging them on one of the moving hooks. I take note of them,wondering how far up they might take me. Hunched low to the floor, I make my way across the room, dread grabbing at my ankles maliciously. I freeze as he sniffs carefully, jaw cracking. **_RUN!_ **

The dread that slowed me turns to panic that pushes me forward, through the tiny crawl space. The Janitor’s screech is drowned out by my heartbeat, and there is nowhere to hide here, just a pile of shoes-

Smelly shoes that may hide me from The Janitor’s nose. I dive in. I press my hand harshly to my mouth in an attempt to cover my breath. He stops in confusion, sniffing deeply, hands fumbling throughout the room. _I cannot die here. There’s something **I** need to do. _ He shakes his head and totters back out. I exhale shakily, body relaxing in the pile of shoes. The crank handle is right in front of me, and I slip through the trap door before his hands can enter the room again.

I am back in the vents. I open my lighter and continue on, coming upon another small lantern. This one is considerably taller than the others. I light it, the fire proof that I made it past The Janitor once. I can do it again.

This vent drops me into a room filled with shoes, random suitcases splayed on the surface. I don’t trust the stillness and resolve to swim through as fast as possible. My suspicion is confirmed when, partway to the next suitcase, something below me _moves._ I clamber up, turning in time to see a spray of shoes before whatever it is stops. I judge the distance between me and the next case, launching myself out and kicking furiously. The rumble of shoes follows me, but it has no chance of catching up. Twice more, and I am safely atop the metal ledge. Well, as safe as a child can be on this ship.

I run my eyes over the shoes once more, a testament to this holocaust of children at the hands of something we can barely hope to escape. **_You can stop the massacre. You can change_ ** **everything.** I will survive for them. I will end this.

There are rats hanging from the ceiling, and I realize this is where I was trapped. I head into the darkened hallway, wondering if I can take the elevator somewhere else, when I hear the cracking of bone and start running. He is so close behind me, his stubby legs propelling him faster than I thought. I slide under a pipe and am back on my feet, muscles burning in exertion. The elevator is just up ahead with a crate I can hide in. He pauses inside the elevator, sniffing the air before pushing the button. We shudder upwards. His arms go to the boxes near me, fingers delicately feeling around. They squirm towards my hiding spot. Just as he is about to discover me, a Nome darts out the open door. The Janitor screeches and chases after.

I wait until I’m sure he’s gone to leave the box. The next room has a box of toys, and as I walk past, I notice the floorboard shift beneath my feet. Curious, I walk back and forth. It wants to go down, but the box holds it in place. I shove the box out of the way and move back onto the plank. It lowers me down, and when I step off it flies back up. There is a crawl space under the floor, barely big enough for even me. I hear the thuds of The Janitor’s footsteps above me, but there is no screech of discovery. He can’t smell me down here.

I take the time to explore, pressing my face to the spaces between the floorboards. There are two rooms; One rather large area and one cluttered with dolls. The doll room also has an enormous dresser, tall enough that I would be safe from reach if I make it to the top. I stand by the ladder, waiting for his footsteps to fade before climbing up. I stay low to the ground, timing my movement between rooms with his. I take care not to knock over the multiple dolls and climb the dresser and into the vents without detection.

The vents drop me onto carpet - if they hadn’t, I’d probably be dead. The Janitor clambers up into high ceiling until shadows envelop him. I rush for the door and push it down, knocking over an immense grandfather clock. I duck behind the fallen timepiece, tracking the movement of The Janitor. He tries to move closer to me, but bangs his head on the wall clock. As he grabs his head to block out the noise, I sneak past on the carpeting. There is another button, but no monkey for me to throw. I search the room desperately, panic clouding my mind. There! A shoe! I grab it and launch it at the button, slipping through the door. I enter a hallway filled with clocks pressed tightly together. There is a roar of frustration behind me. I run.

Chimes toll around me, the discordant song matching the frantic beat of my feet. I think even The Lady can hear the clamor we’re causing. I slam a door behind me and cut off the noise as well as my pursuer. The sudden silence presses on me, and I feel that if I inhale too loud, it will crash down around me. The reason for the silence is apparent once I actually look at my surroundings. There are pillars of books, forming some sort of library.

 _What use would a blind thing have for books?_ Tears prick at my eyes as I put the pieces together. The Bellman - no, the Hanged Man - was the owner of this place. He used to bring my sisters and I books to read. He said he had a huge collection in the lower decks, and we’d beg him to let us see it. He said he hoped we never did. Now I understand why that was.

I haul myself up onto the desk and scale the shelves, igniting the candlestick at the top. There is an image scratched into the wood near the candle, and I move out of the light to see it better. A simplistic butterfly with the number two drawn inside the wings has been carved deep into the wood. I guess Two found a knife while she was down here, though it apparently didn’t do much good. She used to draw them everywhere, on the corners of scrap paper or doodled on her arms, always with her signature two inside the wings. I jump onto the swinging piano, my body on autopilot as I am lost in memories.

The Lady was the one who told us about butterflies, and made The Hanging Man bring us a picture book to show it to us. She told us how the ugly caterpillar went through a transformation to become beautiful, and that she was replicating that process. Immediately, Two was enamored with the idea of growing her own beautiful wings. She was so creative in her ideas. I wish she could have drawn even one more thing before being sent into The Maw.

I almost don’t notice The Janitor lowering himself onto the platform above me. My heart pounds in my throat and I pray he can’t smell me. He moves on without so much as a sniff. I spot another place for a crank handle and trace the pulley system. This will raise the piano, and hopefully allow me to reach somewhere new. **_Somewhere closer to Her._ **

Sneaking around on the carpet is easy, and The Janitor doesn’t seem to notice me as I cross the shelves above him and creep into the next room. I am able to breathe a bit easier with a door separating me from him and run my hands through my hair, letting the tension fade. It’s better to think when terror isn’t clawing at the edge of my mind. **_Soon you will have nothing to fear. Neither will any of the other children._ ** I can almost picture what must occur, but the crank handle catches my eye. It will be easy enough to carry it, but I won’t be able to climb back up the shelves holding it. The Janitor needs to be distracted, and the television (if it still works) is the perfect way to pull his attention elsewhere.

I push the button and flinch at the noise. Distorted singing fills the air, and I grab the crank handle and rush to hide near the door. He wanders in slowly, arms outstretched to find the source of the singing. Three liked to sing. I wonder if she sang down here to keep away the fear.

My steps are soft as I leave the room, heart straining in my chest, but I force myself to keep pace. If I run, he will hear, and I need time to raise the piano. After what seems like an eternity, I make it back. Adrenaline floods my veins as his screech rends the air, and I spin the crank. As the piano finally comes into view I run, thighs burning as I jump as far as I can and land hard on the wood. I turn back to see him sniffing in confusion and curl up tight on the piano’s smooth surface. My eyes widen as his fingers spread out over the abyss. I glance behind me and see a shelf under a wall opening. If I can make it in there…

His arms retract, and I hastily fling myself off the piano and clamber through the wall. A hissing greets my ears. Light flickers between my fingers to reveal steam escaping a pipe. There is a rolling cart I can use to stop myself from being boiled alive. I am so tired of new obstacles. Does she know I’m coming yet? Or am I just another runaway kid that will be killed and eaten? I shove the cart forward. The metal is cold against my hand as I heave myself up and drop down the other side, pulling the cart over to the door and jumping onto the handle. I swing into another room and drop, my heels meeting wood while my toes touch nothing. I lurch backward to avoid falling and crash onto my back. _Just another bruise to join the others._ Carefully skirting the drop to certain death, I make my way to the vent. This one is larger than the others, big enough I can stand in it. There is another candle for me to light.

Pipes clump together between two holes in the vent walls. **_Look out!_ ** An arm shoots through the hole before me, fingers scrabbling over the pipe. _Not this way._ I try to back up but the other arm enters. I am trapped between the two arms, unable to move in either direction. I snap off my lighter and watch for an opening. As The Janitor is sliding his hand along the pipe on the ceiling, I crouch down and advance steadily. After a bit there is a grunt of disappointment and a clank as the arms withdraw.

He is still beside me. He can smell me in the wall and is following me. Through the opening up ahead I see a  closing door. If I make it in time, I can slide under and finally separate myself and The Janitor. My lungs scream in pain, blood rushing through my body as I force my battered feet to _run,_ arms pumping at my side, _I can make it-_

Metal crunches and groans as the door is stopped by a cage. A high pitched, almost lyrical note splits the air and echoes off the walls. I don’t realize I had screamed until I register the rawness in my throat. At least the noise seems to have stunned The Janitor. I use the extra seconds to clamber up the cage in a corner of the room and calm myself down enough to think. There’s always a way out, because the cycle must always continue.

His arms reach under the door, slowly moving over the laundry bin. The other hand is inching towards me.

I grip my hair in frustration, breath harsh in my throat. _I have to close the door. The cage is stopping it. I can’t move the cage._ Some of the thinner bars have snapped open. The thicker bars that make up the corners of the cage are straining, screws close to popping. I just need to help it along.

His hand is dangerously close to me. I leap over it into the space between his arms and grab the nearest corner. My fear rises as the metal resists and I frantically tug, nearly yelling again when it gives way. His hands fly back to the cage and I roll, this time going to the laundry bin in the other corner. I watch his hands spread, hesitantly searching the surrounding ground and spreading outwards. Once the space is wide enough I dart back in, wrapping my small fingers around the bar. Rage swirls, tightening my hands and strengthening my tugs.

If The Janitor doesn’t react in time, this door will crush his arms, probably killing him. **_He deserves it._ ** I rip the bar free and the door slams shut. His arms instantly go limp. Screams rend the air, echoing over and over until it seems The Maw is laughing at him. I can hear a repeated thudding as The Janitor flails in pain. **_Do you think there is blood pouring out of him like a crimson fountain?_ ** _Is his blood even red? It might be black._ **_I wish we could see it._ **I laugh, the sound of my morbid glee a perfect harmony to his screams. I laugh until there are tears in my eyes and the screams are no more. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I crawl back up the cage and leap into the newly opened vent. The shadows envelop me, greeting me as if I were an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't edit before posting, so if you catch any mistakes (or just have suggestions to help me improve my writing) feel free to leave a comment!!


	3. The Nightmare Kitchen

The top of the ladder opens into a small hallway, an endless loop of hooks moving above my head. They hang just out of my reach, even jumping, and the two ends of the room drop into nothingness. I have to be able to reach them, right?

It turns out I don’t need to when a body bag, wrapped up tidy with rope, drags towards me. I jump and cling on, the floor falling away as I am carried further up. There is someone smoking; I can smell it from where I dangle. I crane my neck and spot one of the Chefs before he heads back inside. Honestly, I think the Twins will be easier to deal with than the Janitor. They’re dumb, slow, and have a short reach. If I avoid their notice, I should be fine.  **_Maybe I could shove them in their oven where they cook the kids._ ** _ Later. That isn’t my main objective. _

I drop onto a pile of bodies, trying not to twist my ankle as I pick my way through. My foot has barely touched the (warm, it’s warmer here) floor before my hands clutch my stomach.  _ I’m hungry. _ I stumble further, empty body bags piled around. Rats skitter away from their meals.  _ I’m HU _ **_NGRY._ ** I need something fresher than bread or dead meat. There is a rat caught in a trap.  **_I’M HUNGRY!_ ** It’s neck snaps in my teeth and I frantically tear off hunks of meat. 

When I’ve had my fill I drop its carcass and continue on. The feeling of its body squirming beneath my hands and the rush of warm blood stayed with me ( **_the elation of taking a life stayed with me_ ** ) as I continued on, making my way through the next few rooms and into the pantry. There’s a lot of food here,  **_but nothing that would satisfy me._ ** The Chef is slicing up the meat in preparation for the feast. The sound of the knife covers my light footsteps as I sneak into the kitchen proper.

Lumbering footsteps follow, and I duck under the counter as he goes to check the pots. There’s a door on the other side of the room, if I can distract him I could run over there without ever being spotted. Some of the oven doors have been left open. I sneak around the counter and slam one shut, watching carefully as he straightens and moves to check it out. I creep the other way before sprinting, under the table, up the stairs, behind the wall. The door looms in front of me - locked.  _ Nothing’s ever simple, is it?  _ **_It’s probably in their bedroom, I just need to get up there._ ** I scale the cabinet and clamber up onto the beams. My arms are so  _ tired,  _ and the bruises  _ hurt, but  _ **_I am almost there._ ** The latticework provides safe passage above the Chef, and soon I am crawling up the stacked baskets sitting on a sturdy platform.

I nearly vomit up the rat at the smell from the bathroom. The other bathroom was bad, but this is  _ so much worse.  _ I can’t get out quick enough. The opening of the door sends another Nome skittering down the hallway to the bedroom. It’s dark in here, heavy breathing filling the room. I flick on my lighter, shining it carefully around until I spot the key. My steps are silent, but the squeak of a Nome causes the breathing to change abruptly. I duck under the bed as the other Chef rises, flicking on the light and stumbling out of the room.

I force my lungs to expand and contract until my heartbeat slows again. They may be stupid, but if I’m spotted, there’s no way out. I crawl out and haul myself on top of the radiator. I grip the key, the metal warm in my hands, and swing my body to shift it off the peg. It clatters to the ground, and I hop down after it, holding it to my chest as I reenter the hallway. The elevator is open now. At least I don’t have to try to maneuver down and across while carrying the key.

I don’t bother trying to distract them this time. I don’t run as fast carrying the key, and focus on stealth over speed. I move from place to place, tracking their movements until I’m back by the door. The noise from the padlock will alert them, so I have to be ready to run. As soon as it unlocks, I shove through the door, hopping up on the table and through the corner window. I drop into what appears to be the sausage making room. The machine looms above me as I maneuver to stand by it. I yank the handle dangling from the ceiling. It opens a hatch in the ceiling and a chunk of meat drops. If I can make a long enough sausage chain, I can swing over to the next window. I need more meat.

There’s a dumbwaiter that takes me up as soon as I climb in. The cold air shocks me and I begin to shiver, drawing my coat tighter around me. There’s a small hatch on the opposite wall, and climbing through shows me another lantern. This one stands tall, only an inch or two burned off. I hope this is due to how hidden it is, but I doubt that. There’s another butterfly scratched into the floor here. Only one wing contains the number two. It seems she was found out before completing the other. I leave shortly after that, collecting two other chunks as my fingers and toes slowly freeze.

Back in the sausage room, I rub my hands and stomp my feet to regain feeling before continuing. The machine squelches out three links, long enough that when I swing I am able to reach the next window. The temperature dropped the farther I traveled in the vent. I was dropped down in another meat cooler, this one significantly larger than the other. Maybe I can just take the elevator up.

**_Hide!_ **

I rush back to where I spotted some stacked boxes, seeing a dark, bulbous shape descend in the elevator. The Chef stomps out. My pulse leaps, pounding in my throat as he stops at my hiding place and shakes the box above, sifting through its contents and pulling something out. He moves to the side and I can hear him tear off a chunk of meat before moving away. Adrenaline shoots into my limbs and I sprint to the elevator, a shout of alarm coming from behind me as the gate slides shut. As soon as I step out the gates close again. I search frantically for a hiding spot, crawling into a vent just before the elevator ascends. I bite my knuckle as he hesitates, but he moves on without a glance toward my hiding space. I press my hands against my face and wipe the sweat off before climbing down to follow after him.

The sound of meat ripping greets my ears as I hide under the nearest counter. There’s a key on the bloody table. I was able to distract The Janitor with the TV, there must be something I can use to pull the same trick again. I sneak around the back and dash into the adjoining room where there is some sort of meat grinder with a body half stuck inside.  **_I wish I could shove him in there, making him look like an idiot will do for now._ ** I press the button and rush back to the hole in the wall, timing my movements to match his. While he checks the grinder, I hoist myself up on the table. The metallic smell of blood fills my nostrils, the wetness sticking to my feet and as I grab the key and make a break for the elevator. I descend back to the large meat cooler and unlock the door, through it before the elevator can carry my enemy to me. I curl up in a box as he runs in. The Chef stares around at the empty room, confused. He gives up quickly and continues on.

The door is too heavy for me to open. I guess the trash chute is my best option. My landing is cushioned by mounds of trash, and honestly, the bathroom smelled worse. I climb up the wall and into a crawl space below the next room. Soapy water drips down, and I pop my head out of an opening to see The Twins scrubbing a monstrous stack of dishes, each the size of my entire body. My way on is blocked by a grate. I’ll have to risk the open floor to hide under the next sink.

I haul myself out, twin shrieks greeting me, and slide through water under the sink. They stoop down, pudgy arms flailing, but unable to get to me.  **_I have to wonder if she did something to them to make them more obedient, and it made them stupid._ ** There’s pieces of ceramic littering the floor, sure to cut my feet if I’m too careless. I creep around the area, noting the switch that controls the hooks. I know the tracks lead farther up in The Maw if I reverse the direction of the hooks. But they do me no good without a way to reach them. The walls aren’t scalable, and there weren’t any stacked boxes for me to climb.  **_The dishes were high enough to reach the hooks, and be out of their reach._ ** I throw the switch and duck under the table as they enter, moving along the wall to rush out and duck under the sink before they can follow. They search the room in vain as I make my way to the stack of dishes, standing triumphantly at the top when they finally notice me, arms straining to reach me. I grab a hook, soaring through the air as they race around beneath me.

My victory lasts until the track turns, heading where one waits with his doughy hand outstretched. I drop, hitting the ground running as the other bursts through the door behind me. I slide under a table and shoot out the other side. A wine bottle flies past me, shattering and spraying against the wood. I clamber on top of the crate, onto a bin of dishes, I can feel their hot breath, the hook is moving, hanging over nothingness, and I desperately leap, my momentum carrying my forward, fingers reaching, gripping, holding tight to the metal as my feet kick in the empty air. Shrieks of rage follow me, as well as more bottles and a few plates. Their screams fade the farther I go, but I cannot calm down. I thought the Janitor was more dangerous than the Twin Chefs, but that was much too close.

I am shaken off my hook and I land on a thin pipe. I carefully maneuver forward and drop onto a much thicker pipe.  **_I am so close now._ ** But I need to rest. Recklessness will not help me now. I need to heal. I curl up in the center, back against the wall, and allow sleep to claim me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and feedback are always appreciated!


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